Pedestrian safety plans for Leitrim school set to begin next year

A Leitrim school will have pedestrian safety plans in place by next year, it was revealed recently when  Cllr Enda McGloin asked the council about the plans for Drumeela National Schools at a Ballinamore meeting.

He was told that Drumeela National School has been approved a total of €60,000 funding under the National Transport Authority's Safe Routes to School programme - Schools on Higher Speed Rural Roads, which is for schools typically outside built-up areas with speed limits of 80-100km/h. 

He was told the objective is to increase driver awareness of the school's presence and to encourage reduced speeds and more attentive driving behaviour through use of appropriate signage and road markings. 

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The design for Drumeela National School is expected to be issued to Leitrim County Council from the NTA by Q4 2025 and then will be implemented. 

He said the plan would help with highlighting that there is a school in this area. "Traffic behaviour has been dangerous and maybe that comes from the fact that not a lot of people know there is a school there."

Emma Donohoe noted that only the schools on Schools on Higher Speed Rural Roads are being designed through the NTA however, other schools in urban centres will be done locally. 

Cllr Paddy O'Rourke also welcomed the news and described the traffic issue as "a nightmare". 

He said: "I visited the school recently and there were people calling to pick up kids and traffic parking on the road and it was just a recipe for disaster. The sooner this happens the better."